ICYMI - Juan for the Win: Flores Comes Up Clutch on Opening Night

PASCO – C Juan Flores’s two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the 8^th inning provided the Tri-City Dust Devils (1-0) the winning margin in an 8-6 victory over the Vancouver Canadians on an Opening Night Friday at Gesa Stadium.

The 2,409 fans in attendance saw the lead change hands four different times throughout the topsy-turvy contest, with the Dust Devils first taking the lead in the bottom of the 4^th inning by earning three bases loaded walks. LF Jorge Ruiz, who had the first of the RBI walks, also flipped a two-out, two-run single to left-center in the 5^th inning to tie the game back up at 5-5.

1B Ryan Nicholson’s RBI single to left in the 6^th put Tri-City back in front 6-5, giving him a multi-hit night. CF Anthony Scull went 2-for-5, and SS Capri Ortiz had a single and two walks, stealing two bases in typical fashion.

Starter Chris Cortez went four-plus innings, giving up two runs on two hits and striking out two in a no-decision. Reliever Benny Thompson (1-0) got the win, giving up a run in the 7^th but striking out the side in the top of the 8^th to earn the victory. Vancouver hurler Kelena Sauer (0-1) took the loss.

Sam Tookoian got the save, giving up a leadoff walk but getting some help from his infield defense. The big righty induced a pop-up off the bat of C Edward Duran, who swung as part of a hit-and-run. The runner at first, Canadians LF JR Freethy, slid headfirst into second unaware of the pop-up. Dust Devils 2B Adrian Placencia decoyed Freethy by holding the tag on him, despite not having the ball. By the time Freethy realized it, Flores had caught the pop-up. The Tri-City catcher threw to Ortiz, who ran over from shortstop to catch the throw and step on first for a 2-6 double play. Tookoian then struck out Vancouver CF Jake Casey to end the game.

A HIGHLY ANTICIPATED DEBUT

The Dust Devils and Canadians meet up in game two of their opening three-game series at 6:30 p.m. tonight at Gesa Stadium. Tri-City will send right-hander Tyler Bremner, the second overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, to the mound for his first professional start. He’ll face righty Daniel Guerra, who makes his High-A debut.

Pregame coverage begins radio-wise at 6:10 p.m. at dustdevilsbaseball.com and the MiLB app, with first pitch scheduled for 6:30 p.m. You can watch on Bally Sports Live, MLB.tv or the MiLB app.

For tickets both to tonight’s game and Easter Sunday’s 1:30 p.m. afternoon game, as well as all 2026 Dust Devils home games, visit the official ticket site, dustdevilsbaseball.com.